One Rule to Live Longer, Look Younger and Be Healthier By Vyara Bridgeman

My starting point for this article is this: there are no right models but some models are useful. In other words, nothing is hard and fast in science. Our understanding evolves all the time, and with that the world around us evolves as well. And I am not necessarily saying that evolving our understanding means we understand more. Sometime we simply get to a point where we realize that we don't understand anything. And those can be pivotal points as they make us go back to basics and start all over again. So ageing, extending life and improving health (and looks!) at an old age... It seems science has gone right back to basics on this one. And there is one simple principle that emerges time and again with every study on longevity: eat less. Now, there are two main ways to go about eating less. Suppose you settle on reducing your caloric intake down to X calories per day. (NB: I don't know how much X should be for you - that will depend on body weight, physical exertion, etc.) One way to eat those X calories daily would be to distribute them throughout the entire day over frequent but small portion meals. Conversely, you can eat the same amount of calories during an 8 hour window (i.e. eat fewer but bigger meals) and fast for 16 hours. The latter strategy is called intermittent fasting and the scientific literature at the moment says that that's the way to go, if you want to live longer, look better and feel healthier. Thus, researchers from the University of Alabama conducted a study with a small group of obese men with prediabetes. They compared a form of intermittent fasting called "early time-restricted feeding," where all meals were fit into an early eight-hour period of the day (7 am to 3 pm), or spread out over 12 hours (between 7 am and 7 pm). After five weeks, the eight-hours group had dramatically lower insulin levels and significantly improved insulin sensitivity, as well as significantly lower blood pressure. And the best part - the eight-hours group also had significantly decreased appetite. Another study compared the effect of consuming one afternoon meal per day for 8 weeks and reported 4.1% weight loss in comparison to an isocaloric diet consumed as three meals per day. One meal per day was also associated with reductions in fasting glucose, and improvements in LDL- and HDL-cholesterol. I can go on citing other studies. Many of them are on rats, where intermittent fasting conclusively extends life and health-span by at least 10 percent (which, by the way, in rat world means many years). But I want to bring this discussion back to basics, which was my starting premise. Recall that in every religion some form of fasting is an important practice. You think that's for religious purposes per se? And you think it's a coincidence that all religions recommend incorporating some fasting regiment? I would think not. My guess is people have always intuitively known what's best for them. And this intuitive knowledge is reflected in religion texts which sort of act like manuals for wholesome living. Indeed, if you followed spiritual teachings (e.g. love unconditionally, forgive, be compassionate, let go and surrender, don't overeat, etc.), you might live longer and healthier (of course provided you threw away the institutional "religious" crap that got over-imposed to serve the ego purposes of the upper classes). Now science comes along and says the same thing that religions preached for centuries - intermittent fasting seems to trigger repair processes in the body which, in turn, increase health, improve looks, and extend life. Isn't that interesting! Vyara Bridgeman is an Advanced Certified BodyTalk practitioner who works with patients from all over the world suffering a variety of physical, mental and emotional conditions. To find out more about Vyara's BodyTalk practice, what her clients say about her, and how she can help you achieve a balanced body-mind, visit: http://www.BodyTalk4Life.com Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Vyara_Bridgeman/978988 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10071151